Azure Ray sees a new Dota 2 roster with names like XinQ and Xxs in the lineup.
Azure Ray has unveiled its new Dota 2 roster following the departure of the trio veteran. New players will fill in the shoes of Lu "Somnus" Yao, Yang "Chalice" Shenyi, and Xu "fy" Linsen who collectively decided to not continue with the organization. This new Dota 2 roster will take part in the upcoming ESL One Kuala Lumpur in December.
Azure Ray's new Dota 2 roster is as follows:
- Lou "Lou" Zhen
- Guo "Xm" Hongcheng
- Lin "Xxs" Jing
- Zhao "XinQ" Zixing
- Jiang "天命" (tian ming) An
- Wang "Liekkas" Yutian (Coach)
Azure Ray's journey in 2023
Azure Ray is one of the names in Dota 2 that we didn't expect to become the talk of the town. The Chinese organization hosted a last-minute all-star roster with names like Somnus, Chalice, and fy. This trio is widely known for their PSG.LGD days from 2018 to 2020 in which they consistently dominated the Dota 2 space.
Although the trio have been inactive for months, they returned to the scene in a last-minute and seemingly casual attempt. They voluntarily played for Azure Ray without salary and tested their luck. Well, their luck brought them further than anybody anticipated.
Azure Ray not only qualified for The International 12 through the competitive Chinese qualifier - they also finished in the top 4 of the tournament. It is an incredible feat for such a hastily put together team. Despite the impressive run, Azure Ray will still field a new roster as the trio decide to turn inactive once more.
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Fy reveals reason for departure
According to translations from CN Dota In A Nutshell, fy revealed why he decided to once again take a break from the competitive scene. Fy stated that Azure Ray's team owner wanted him to continue playing. But he decided that he can't maintain both a professional and streaming career.
Fy believes that he makes the same amount of income as a professional player and as a streamer. He also just simply wants to be a streamer more than pursuing the competitive path.
However, fy did clarify that he isn't completely retiring. The veteran captain is still open to participate in the upcoming Riyadh Masters which usually hosts a colossal prize pool. "I can go for Riyadh Masters if some team wants me to do that with them," he stated.
Although the reasons for Somnus' and Chalice's departure isn't explained, we can expect it to be similar to fy's reasoning. Both the players are indeed active in the streaming scene. The streaming culture in China's Dota 2 scene is immense and many perceive it just as profitable as a pro career. And it comes with much less pressure and stress - an incredibly tempting deal.
The new roster for Azure Ray will be hot in action this December 11 for the $1 million ESL One Kuala Lumpur. You can check out more info about the tournament below!
Stay tuned to esports.gg for more Dota 2 news and updates!